Third Time Lucky
by K.haosprinz
Summary: Watch Naruto searching for a partner and all the difficulties coming along! Rated for language, mentions of violence and a soft lemon in the last chapter. Implied NarutoxSasuke. Tons of Naruto/Sasuke!Bromance. KakashixNaruto. NarutoxNeji. Last chapter up, sequel in progress! Somewhat...
1. Chapter 1

Naruto felt lonely.

To change that, he decided to search among his friends for someone to _help_ him. He was eighteen now, and even if puberty was wearing off, at least the times he felt like making an idiot out of himself had decreased significantly, the hormones were _not_. And when he oh so 'innocently'–_coughcough_- decided not to _look_ at his friends but to check them _out_, he noticed three things that scared him shitless.

First, while he did enjoy looking at Ino's breasts jiggle each time she began to jump around, they didn't turn him on. What _did_ turn him on however, was Kiba's sweaty, muscular back when the Inuzuka decided it was too warm to train with any more clothes than necessary.  
His first reaction at the time was choking on the water he was drinking, and when his brown haired friend leaned down towards him to check if he was okay or actually needed help, all Naruto could do was follow the salty pearls of water trailing down the other's chest. He proceeded to choke some more. He then jumped to his feet, shouted something he didn't remember and dashed off to his apartment.

Once there, he slammed his door shut and leant against the wood, breathing heavily, all the while muttering colourful curses under his breath.  
"What the _hell_ was _that_?", he asked the innocent plant standing on the other side of room. He glared at it when it didn't answer.  
Slumping down, he summoned up the little logical part of his brain to find the solution himself. And _boy_, it wasn't nice. After some whining, denying, realizing, sulking and glaring at the, the _monster_ between his legs that betrayed him every time it twitched when he thought about his male friends and stayed still when he thought about his female friends, he gave in.

He liked men. _Men_. He, who had fussed over Sakura for _years_, liked MEN. He groaned and buried his face in his hands. This couldn't be true.  
In a last desperate attempt of denial he tried to conjure a picture of any of his female friends in beach outfits.  
That however soon proved to be one of his less smart ideas, when every single beautiful woman in his mind soon turned into a gorgeous (he whimpered again at that thought) man. He quickly scrambled to his feet to fetch a tissue to stop his nosebleed.

_That's it_, he thought humourlessly, _I'm a lost case. I'm officially gay._

* * *

A couple of weeks later, incident number two happened.

It was still unbearable warm outside, and after a good sparring with Sasuke, he dragged his dark haired friend to a nearby river to cool off. He got rid of his Jōnin uniform in mere seconds and jumped head-first into the cool water. He returned to the surface and with a blissful sigh, before he looked over to his friend who just stood there and stared at him. He waved.  
"Come on now, teme! Don't tell me you're being shy now?", he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.  
Said teme shot him an indignant look and huffed, before he too stripped down to his boxers. Ever since the war was over and he had rejoined the shinobi ranks of Konoha, they both were Jōnin now, they had both somewhat returned back to their normal. More precisely the normal bickering, rivalry and brotherhood they had shared before his departure. There were a few changes however, and Naruto had been utterly surprised when he first noticed them. They still (kind of) looked out for each other on missions, but at home now as well, it seemed.

Sasuke, after having lost his real brother even twice, seemed determined to not let something like that happen again. And so, when Naruto had ditched him once because he had received a nasty wound after a training session with Kiba, Sasuke had gone to find the Inuzuka. When he did, he had innocently asked him for some sparring as well.  
As it turned out, the only reason the Uchiha did so was to beat the brunette into a bloody pulp for hurting his brother-in-everything-but-blood. After that incident, nearly all the shinobi in the village were a lot more careful around the Jinchūriki.  
At first, Naruto had been irritated by the sudden change of behaviour towards him, but after pestering Sasuke enough to actually tell him, or rather scream it at him in the middle of a fist fight, he had felt warmth spreading through his guts. He had cooed "Awww, Sasuke-teme cares for me-!", and after _that_ he had to nurse a nasty bruise on his head. But the gooey feeling in his stomach stayed. That was about one month ago, and about three weeks after he discovered his... _preferences_.

And right now, he was blissfully wading through the cool water and occasionally splashing water at the irritated Uchiha to engulf him into a full-scale water-battle. And after Naruto tackled the raven to pull him down into the water (how old were they again?), the stoic male snapped and fought back. And while they were at it, Naruto suddenly noticed all the things the girls liked about Sasuke. He ignored it however and instead settled with grabbing his friend's ankle, and swinging him over his head, throwing him back into the water a few feet away. When the raven broke through the surface again, sputtering and coughing up water, the blond snickered. When he caught the glare the other was throwing at him, it turned into laughter.  
Sasuke huffed and decided they had fooled around enough (he did _not_ loose, he merely decided enough was enough), and so he resumed relaxing for a bit. And so, he leaned, with his back against the shore, arms crossed behind his head as he looked up at the sky.  
Naruto on the other hand, was slowly calming down and began looking at the other male intently. He watched the drops of water running down the pale, scarred skin, the lithe muscles moving... He zoned out.

After some time, Sasuke had the unnerving feeling of being watched. His eyebrow twitched.

He half-opened one of his eyes, and peeked over to his blond friend, who was staring at him with dazed eyes. His eyebrow twitched again, and he frowned. Wondering what the idiot was up to this time, he slowly swam through the water until he was in front of the blond. Still no reaction.  
He briefly thought about experimenting with his Chidori Nagashi[1] in the water, but disregarded the idea; he'd probably fry himself as well. With a noise somewhere between a growl and a sigh, he simply smacked his friend on the head.  
"What're you looking at?"  
Instead of receiving an answer, a fact which caused his eyebrow to twitch again, the younger male stared at him again, eyes widening and slowly but steadily turning redder and redder. Another eyebrow-twitch. But when he opened his mouth to ask again, aggravated, Naruto broke out of his stupor.  
"Igottagoseeyoutomorrowbye!"  
And with that, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Now it was Sasuke turn to stare, dumbfounded. What the hell had that been? He glanced over to the pile of clothes the blond had left behind and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why was that idiot his best friend again...?

Naruto on the other hand stood panting in his apartment, his hands gripping the table in front of him tightly. He didn't even notice that he was nearly naked and dripping wet; he was way too busy being horrified by the recent events. He was attracted, to _Sasuke_. And if he took the tightness of his actually loose boxers into consideration, he was _very_ attracted.  
Groaning, he slumped onto the chair next to him and let his head fall onto the table with a loud thud. Right now, the usually cheerful, optimistic and content Uzumaki Naruto hated his very own life. He _loathed_ it. And his hormones. And his imagination. And so much more.

After he wallowed in self-pity for a while, he sighed. He banged his head against the hard wood beneath his face once again before he mumbled wearily to no one in particular,  
"That's it. I'm dead. He's going to kill me."  
"Who's going to kill you?!"  
With a loud yelp, Naruto pushed himself away from the table, got stuck with his chair on _something,_ and crashed down onto the floor. And while he laid there, a tangled mess consisting of himself, a chair, and a blanket -he had _no_ idea where that one came from- and tried to calm his frantic heart, the very man he had been thinking about stood in the door to his living room.  
"Holy son of a... Crap, Sasuke! You scared me to death!"  
The Uchiha merely blinked at him, not sure if he should be amused by his friend's idiocy, or if he should shake the name of the person that was going to kill the blond out of him. He settled for something entirely different.  
"You forgot your clothes, baka. And what was that about someone going to kill you?", he added sweetly.  
He watched as Naruto entangled himself and stood up again, running a hand through his wet hair, followed by a shake of his blond head.  
"No one actually, I was just thinking about something stupid."  
Sasuke looked at him insistently before he shrugged. He would find out sooner or later.

He let the neatly folded clothes in his hand fall onto the table and crossed his arms in front of his chest.  
"Fine, don't tell me. But care to share what just happened at the river?"  
With a tiny bit of amazement he noticed that Naruto turned beef red again before laughing awkwardly.  
"I just, uh, thought of something and kind of... freaked out," the blond answered and scratched the back of his head. He grabbed the clothes on the table and turned to put them away-  
"I guess it was something exciting then when you're trying to look like a hat rack, huh?"  
-but instead he decided to run face-first into the door in front of him. _Yes_, he _decided_ to do so, thank you very much.  
Amused by his friends antics, Sasuke plopped down a chair, put his elbows on the table and his chin in his hands, a smug expression on his features. Had Naruto really thought he wouldn't notice? Geez, he was a shinobi, for god's sake, and a very good one as well.

Rubbing his nose and ignoring the blush in his face, Naruto glared at his friend. It were times like these where he wanted the _old_ Sasuke back, not the new one who actually behaved like a friend even if it wasn't a life or death situation. Grumbling something incoherent under his breath, the blond suddenly blinked. Maybe he could turn the table...

Grinning smugly he sat down on the other chair and imitated the Uchiha's pose.  
"Maybe. Jealous because I have someone to daydream over and you don't?"  
Sasuke blinked. He certainly hadn't expected that. He tilted his head the tiniest bit.  
"No, more like pitying because daydreaming is all you can do" he replied nonchalantly. He felt his eyebrow twitching again when Naruto inched closer over the table instead of blabbering nonsense.  
"Aww, don't tell me you actually have a lover that isn't called 'your right hand'?"  
Another twitch. But he took up the challenge and scooted closer as well.  
"Perhaps. I met some interesting people the other day."  
Naruto raised his eyebrows in suspicion, coming closer once again.  
"Ohhh? Do tell."  
Another inch less between their faces.  
"So you can have your perverted daydreams over my acquaintances? No chance in hell, dobe."  
Only five inches left.  
"Why not, Sasuke-teme?" the blond mused, "I have to say, it appears to me that you are lying."  
Four inches.  
"Well, and it appears to _me_ that you are foolishly trying to change the subject. Won't work with me", he shortly waved a finger in front of Naruto's nose, "So tell me."  
Three inches.  
"Why should it be of your concern?" A small pout. "For all you care I could be dreaming of Gekimayu-sensei[2] in a frilly apron. In _nothing_ but a frilly apron."  
There was that twitch again. Two inches.  
"Only god knows why I put up with you, idiot, but since I do, it is of my concern. Not only would that image be incredibly disturbing, but it would also ruin my reputation."

To his surprise, Naruto didn't come closer and instead looked at him for a moment before laughing dryly.  
Sasuke watched him for a while, mild confusion in his eyes. What was that now? The laughing slowly died into mere chuckling with a hint of bitterness. His friend's blue eyes turned to look at him, sparkling strangely.  
"You. Always you. It's always about you, isn't it?" the blond mused while shaking his head and chuckling some more.  
The raven stared at him. Okay, that comment had been kind of mean, he admitted, but they had both exchanged insults far worse than that and he'd never received a reaction like that so far. He didn't like it. And so he did something he would only for Naruto, at least for something trivial like this.  
"I'm sorry. You know why I care, (_anddon'tmakemesayit)_. If you don't want to tell me, fine. I won't ask again," he huffed, his eyes never leaving the blond. Who only laughed harder.  
"That's a new one. The oh-so-mighty Uchiha Sasuke actually does _not_ understand."

The 'mighty one' stared at Naruto. _What the hell...?_ He blinked when the Jinchūriki suddenly turned to face him with a twisted amusement clearly readable on his features.  
"Aww, come on now, teme, think about it! Weren't you supposed to be a genius?" he teased, "Now, what were we talking about?"  
Sasuke thought. Hard. And after some moments, the pieces finally clicked into place.  
"Oh..."  
Naruto snorted. This was _hilarious_, really.  
"Oh."  
He bit on his bottom lip, his shoulders violently trembling with suppressed laughter.  
"Ohhh..."  
Taking a deep breath, Naruto decided it was time to save his dear friend from his own brain. But the look of pure astonishment, with the tiny, tiny hint of red on his cheeks, on his face was _priceless_. He snickered again.  
"You're slowing down, teme. I'm disappointed."

Sasuke stared at him, bewildered. What in the name of – of – of _whoever_ was happening?! And why the devil was that blond idiot _laughing_ like a madman?  
"Now really, idiot? You're telling me I'm the centre of your wet dreams and all you do is _laugh_?" he seethed.  
Naruto waved his hand dismissively.  
"Whoever told you that? I never said that. This hasn't happened before."  
The blonde leaned back in his chair, carefully observing his friend who blinked at him.  
"You mean, this is the first time that you...?"  
"Yup."  
"And this hasn't happened before?"  
"Nope."  
"And you're not lying?"  
Naruto shot him a look.  
"Right, right... But, uh, well... What now?"  
The younger male shrugged.  
"Nothing, really. I can't help what's going on in my head. I won't come on to you, don't worry. So how about we just act like this isn't happening at all?" They were good at that. Really good.  
With a deep sigh, Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. Running through all the possibilities in his head, he finally nodded.  
"Okay. But if you do something strange, I'll chop your balls off."  
"Deal."

* * *

And so they returned to their former bantering. Admiringly, Naruto _did_ succeed in acting like he wasn't affected by his best friend. Sure, there were the awkward moments when he caught himself staring or spacing out, but other than that... Nothing happened.

Sasuke unfortunately found out just how little control one could have over his or her imagination. And so, after a few days, he found himself spacing out every now and then as well. Inwardly hammering his head against a brick wall, he tried to play it off, but sadly, Naruto noticed. And grinned. But he still didn't do anything strange. If the Uchiha wouldn't have been so busy cursing his stupid imagination into oblivion, he would have been amazed by the ridiculous amount of self-control his blond friend had acquired over the years.

Right now, a few days after the incident at the river, they were slowly walking back into the village.  
"Ne, ne, Sasuke?"  
"Hn?"  
"Can I crash at your place tonight?"  
The raven stopped dead in his tracks and stared at his blond friend who just innocently blinked back at him. After a short moment of thinking, he shook his head.  
"No."  
"Aww, why not?"  
"Why yes?"  
"Because you're my friend and I want to spend time with you. Without beating you up, that is."  
Sasuke looked at him with half raised eyebrows and a bored expression on his face. He looked eerily similar to Shikamaru at the moment. Naruto, on the other hand, tried to look as genuine and innocent as possible.  
They looked at each other for a while, until the blond finally gave in.  
"Pff, fine... There's this strange civilian girl who thinks we're a couple because I once gave her a bunch of flowers I found. And this morning, she just appeared at my doorstep and insisted that we go on a date tonight. I told her no because I was busy, but she didn't believe me. And well, yeah... She's creepy."  
"So you want to hide at my place?"  
Naruto shifted uncomfortably. Sasuke still looked bored, even though he mentally made a note to... have a nice _talk_ with her.  
"Kind of, yes. So please? Pretty please? I'll even cook for you!"  
The raven thought for a moment before he finally rolled his eyes and started walking again.  
"Fine, whatever."  
"Yay!"

About half an hour later, Sasuke was busy glaring at both the door leading to the bathroom where his blond friend currently took a shower, and at the beast between his legs. Finding that none of them would spontaneously burst into flames -and on second thought... he did _not_ actually want that...- he groaned and took his Chūnin vest off. He too wore the standard Jōnin attire, although the common red swirls on his upper arms had been replaced by the Uchiha insignia instead. He heel-toed out of his sandals and ruffled his hair in annoyance. Naruto had run straight into his bathroom, not even asking if he was allowed to...  
Grumbling, the raven went into his kitchen to prepare dinner before he sighed, defeated. Whom was he kidding? They spent just as much time at the other's place as they spent at their own... Even half of their clothes were with the other's home... Heck, he even had _keys_ to Naruto's apartment, just like the blond had some for the Uchiha's.

Muttering insults to no one in particular under his breath, Sasuke opened his refrigerator and randomly took some things out. While it may have seemed like a nice offer when Naruto had said he'd cook, it was actually more of a threat than anything else.  
Silently chopping the vegetables, he listened to the faint sound of the shower. After some time, his goddamned imagination decided to perk up. As did other things.  
Cutting the air, now on stand-by, the raven didn't notice that Naruto, clad in fresh clothes, had entered the kitchen. He tilted his head when he saw his absent friend and examined him. When his eyes fell on a certain body part of his friend, he snickered and decided to tease him a little bit.

Casually walking over to the raven and sitting down on the counter next to him, he smiled widely.  
"Thinking about me?"  
Now he would have expected many things. For example being ignored, glared at, or even stabbed in the leg. But he did not expect Sasuke to snap back into attention, then stare at him, and then blush profusely.  
"Yea- NO! What are you – ack, I mean-" And even stuttering.  
Naruto's blue eyes widened. He had actually only wanted to fool around and not... yeah. They gaped at each other for a moment until the blond found his voice again.  
"This... was not supposed to happen..."  
Sasuke shot him a heated glare, though it looked kind of pathetic with the red spread across his cheeks. And this, folks, is what you call an awkward moment. Congratulations to the parents![Z]

Avoiding each other's eyes for quite a while, they stayed where they were, none of them actually moving. When their eyes met after a few minutes, they felt even more embarrassed. But then Sasuke shot a quick glance to the door, and somehow, Naruto understood. And after a few more moments, he nodded.  
The raven carefully put the knife in his hand down and grabbed the blond's wrist in an oddly gentle manner. He led them out of the kitchen, down the hall, and into the bedroom.

Now, what do you think what happens when two hormonal males, curious about trying something entirely new, are about to do the nasty without actually knowing how it works?

For Naruto and Sasuke, it meant broken furniture, mean looking bruises, and foreplay that turned into a fistfight then back into foreplay. Why? Because neither of them was willing to take the bottom role. After some time however, Naruto gave in, for now at least. He couldn't beat the raven's logic who had said that neither of them actually knew what they were doing, and chances they hurt themselves were high. And since the blond healed ridiculously fast... Well, there you have it. He did however succeed in making Sasuke promise that as soon as they were a bit more experienced with this stuff, neither of them thought that'd take long, they wouldn't stick to one role but rather switch. Even if that promise had needed a Rasengan at his neck to be given.

* * *

[1]Chidori Nagashi = Chidori Current

[2]Gekimayu-sensei = Intense Brows-sensei (Maito Gai)

[Z]_And this, folks, is what you call an awkward moment. __Congratulations to the parents!_

Every time there is an awkward moment, a gay baby is born.

* * *

Hilo~

Well, this is my next story. The first chapter out of four, I already have it finished on my computer.

Sadly, no cover for this one... I wasn't quite sure what I should take and couldn't find anything anyways, so yeah... If someone among my dearest readers has a suggestion, don't be shy and tell me. =D

I'll upload the next chapter when I think it's the right moment to do so... Shouldn't be that long, though. A few days, I suppose.

A big thank you to **PshhAnonymous **for proofreading this shit! =D And thanks to another good friend who endured my rambling and cursing and whatnot about this story even though it doesn't really interest her. xD' She even tried to help me when I was stuck, sometimes!

As always, don't own, don't earn, don't anything. All kinds of reviews except for mindless hating are appreciated!

See you next time~


	2. Chapter 2

The following weeks were like a blur to Naruto. It had only taken three days (two of them full of embarrassing moments) until he had been able to make Sasuke fulfill his promise. Funnily, no one else seemed to notice the change in their relationship. Whenever someone walked in on them making out in public, they simply shrugged it off as another of their quarrels. It was amazing how oblivious people could be when they didn't care for the details, or otherwise Lee wouldn't have joined them with a screamed "THE POWER OF YOUTH AT IT'S FINEST!" in their 'banter' one day, even though Naruto was shirtless with one of his hands in Sasuke's pants. But they had to give some credit to their poor friends; their quality time usually did look like they were trying to throttle each other...  
However, they soon noticed things weren't working out. The more time they spent together, the more they fought. And had mad make up sex, but that wasn't the point. After only three and a half weeks, they were driving each other up the wall and nearly going into a mental home voluntarily.  
And so they decided they weren't a good match.  
Best friends? Yes.  
Rivals? You bet on it.  
Brothers? Best one's at that.  
Lovers? Only if the world was coming to an end. Or rather if they wanted the world to end...

So they broke up, but since there weren't that many feelings involved, it only took a few days full of awkward silences, misplaced hands, and evil punches until everything turned back to normal. And so, Naruto decided, it was time for him to go hunting. For a guy of course, not some poor animal he wouldn't even be able to cook. But since it was boring to hunt alone, he was now pestering Sasuke to help him find a new victim.  
"… Why did I agree to this again?", the raven asked, irritated, while using a picture of Naruto as shuriken target practice in his living room. Said blond didn't even care about that as he lay sprawled on the couch, staring at the ceiling.  
"'Cus you wuv me- OW!" He ripped a shuriken out of his thigh and threw it back at his smug looking friend.  
"Ooops, sorry."  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever...", Naruto growled and pulled a bandage out of his pocket to tend to his wound.  
"Well, just let's get this over with, I have a mission later." Sasuke resumed his target practice. "So, Chōji, Shino, Sai, the spandex-monster, Tsunade-sama's minions, and all those who're definitely straight are out. What about dog-boy?"  
Naruto contemplated for a moment. "He's hot, but our characters are too similar. We'd probably be at each other's throat in less than a week..."  
"Gaara or his barbie-brother?"  
The blond had to laugh before he shook his head.  
"Kankuro... naaah. And Gaara... well, certainly an idea, but that wouldn't work with him in Suna as Kazekage and me in Konoha as Hokage."  
"If you say so..." Sasuke caught the pillow that was thrown at him and threw it back. He was slowly getting irritated again. "Shikamaru?"

Naruto put a finger on his chin. That one could actually work... if his lazy friend was gay, that is. But then again, he didn't think Shikamaru could really put up with all his energy. Too 'troublesome'.  
"Nah. He's too down-to-earth."  
"Gah, dobe, are you actually trying or are you just bored?!"  
The blond shot him a hurt look.  
"No, teme, but I am slowly getting the feeling you're so annoyed because you don't want me to find a boyfriend."  
"Don't flatter yourself, idiot. But, it'd actually help if you had an idea of what exactly you're searching for."  
"But I don't know", Naruto whined and pressed a pillow on his face, "I guess... Something between Kiba and Shikamaru. Someone who is able to put up with my energy, without riling me up, but not too calm so I won't get the feeling of being annoying."

Sasuke rubbed his temples. Well, that information was... worthless. Standing up with an irritated sigh, he started gathering his things for the mission.  
"Oi, Sasuke, you're not planning on-"  
"Pinocchio?"  
Naruto stared at his friend. "What?"  
"The guy with the Mokuton[3]."  
"Yamato-taichō?! Ewww, no! He's nice, yeah, but that's just wrong."  
"Kakashi?"  
"That's equally wr-"

Sasuke turned around when his friend stopped mid-sentence. He hadn't been serious about the last ones... But when he saw the blond sitting there, the smirk on his face slowly but steady growing bigger and bigger, a strange fear settled in his stomach. Naruto suddenly got up, tackled him to the floor, and gave him a bone crushing hug, but before the raven could even open his mouth to say something, the Jinchūriki was gone with a shouted "Thanks, teme, I owe you one!".

_What have I done...?_ To think he actually liked Kakashi... The poor man.

* * *

Naruto on the other hand happily bounced through the village in search of his former sensei. Kakashi seemed like a perfect match for him. He was able to put up with Naruto's endless energy without hurting him for it, he was fun to be around, didn't seem prude -or otherwise he wouldn't read porn in public-, he was smart enough to compensate for Naruto when he had his moments, and last but certainly not least, the man was fucking hot. And the possibility that he would finally see what was underneath that cursed mask was high as well. Okay, the age gap could be a bit of a problem, but he didn't care about that one. At least not right now.  
Skipping through the streets he searched for the familiar mop of silver hair. Before he found him however, he was approached by another man.  
"Oi, Naruto!"  
"Eh? Oh, hey Aoba! What's up?  
"Nothing much. Say, have you seen Sasuke-san anywhere? We ought to go on a mission, but he didn't show up at our meeting point." The man scratched the back of his head.  
Naruto pondered for a moment.  
"He was still at his place about twenty minutes ago... I kinda kept him busy, sorry. He should be there now, though."  
Aoba sighed and nodded.  
"Right, I'll go back then. Thank you." he turned to leave again, but Naruto called him back.  
"Ne, wait a second. Have you seen Kakashi-sensei somewhere?" The Tokubetsu Jōnin halted and looked at him again, contemplating.  
"Hmmm... I think I saw him an hour ago near the Hokage Tower. It looked like Gai-san challenged him again. I don't know if he's still there though."  
Naruto nodded, grinning. "Yosh! Thanks and good luck with your mission!"  
And with that he darted off. Aoba gazed after him for a moment before he shook his head, wondering what the blond was up to now, and left as well.

Speeding through the village, Naruto soon arrived at the Hokage Tower where he was greeted by Gai hanging upside down from a tree and frantically doing sit-ups.  
"I guess he lost again...", he mumbled to himself, walking up to the man, "Hey Gekimayu-sensei."  
Without stopping his movements, Gai gave him a thumbs-up. Or down?  
"Hello, Naruto! Why don't you join me in my training on this beautiful day?"  
"Another time maybe..." the blond smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. No way in hell...  
"Do you know where Kakashi-sensei is?"  
Gai stilled for a moment, before he swung himself up into the air, did some somersaults and landed in front of Naruto, tears of... whatever, streaming down his face.  
"My rival has beaten me yet again! But I shall not bow my head in shame, Naruto, for I will win the next time! And you shouldn't give up either, my youthful boy! I shall continue my training now, and may yours be blessed!" He gave him another thumbs-up along with that blinding smile and disappeared.

Naruto stood there for a moment, not sure if he should roll on the floor, laughing like a maniac, or go and sit in a corner to cry.  
"That was unsurprisingly unhelpful."  
With a huff he crossed his arms; this was getting him nowhere. He mused for a moment until he got an idea. He sat down on the ground and started gathering Nature Energy. After a few minutes he was in Sage Mode.  
"Well now, Kakashi-sensei, where are you...", he muttered to himself and searched for the familiar Chakra. He soon found it, and with a grin sped towards it.

* * *

One famous shinobi know by the name of Hatake Kakashi lazily walked through the streets, reading an infamous little book and pondering about what he should do. There were no appealing missions available, Gai was out as well because of their 'only one challenge per day' rule, and he couldn't find someone who was worth a spar. Not that he'd ever say that out loud, but well, there's no point in kicking some little Genin's or Chūnin's ass, right? Perhaps he could go pester Genma; that was always fun... at least until you had to pull Senbons out of your body. That man had a frighteningly good aim...  
He was so deep in his thoughts he didn't notice the dark blur with a hint of yellow coming closer. Well, his subconscious noticed it, but since it was neither unfamiliar nor dangerous, it shrugged it off. How bad that decision was, he knew a few seconds later when suddenly all air was knocked out of him by that blur. They flew through the air until his back hit the ground a few meters away, and he couldn't help the 'oof' that escaped his lips.

"Heeey, sensei!", the person sitting on top of him chirped merrily. He blinked.  
"Naruto?"  
"The one and only!"  
Kakashi looked at his student, a tiny little bit dumbfounded. Then he noticed the orange markings around the other's eyes and he raised his eyebrows.  
"Why are you in Sage Mode? Did something happen?" The younger male shook his head, still smiling broadly.  
"Nah, I was searching for you and couldn't find you." The Copy Ninja's eyebrows rose higher, but instead of questioning his former student's motives, an idea struck his head.  
"Ne, how about a little spar?", he asked and eye-smiled.  
Naruto looked at him surprised, but he nodded.  
"Sure, but only if we go eat somewhere afterwards. Your choice, my treat."  
Kakashi's eyebrows shot up again. His student inviting him for lunch that wasn't specifically ramen? That was new.  
"Who am I to decline such a nice offer?", he chuckled, "Very well then."  
"Yay!"  
Naruto quickly stood up and offered his teacher a hand to help him get up. The silver haired male accepted the offer, briefly readjusted his clothing and picking his little book up again, before they headed for the training grounds.  
The civilians that had gathered around them to stare at the strange scene soon departed again; they were used to the strange quirks most shinobi displayed from time to time.

They decided that this spar should go under some special conditions, to spice things up a little. No fatal attacks or blows that would seriously harm, no Mangekyō Sharingan for Kakashi, no Sage Mode or Bijū Mode for Naruto, and it would end as soon as one of them drew blood thrice.

The fight went rather smooth for Naruto. He had already nicked Kakashi twice by the time he received the first wound, which was mostly his own fault. One of his own shuriken had been deflected by the older male and had left a small cut on the blond's hand because he hadn't been fast enough (and was kind of surprised) to dodge. Right now he was searching for his former teacher since he couldn't see him anywhere, when he suddenly felt a hand grabbing his ankle and pulling him down into the earth until his head was the only thing left seen.  
"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu![4]"  
"Awww, man!", Naruto groaned when he tried to free himself. Kakashi appeared kneeling in front of him. He was panting harshly, even if he seemed rather satisfied when he took out a kunai and made two small cuts on the other's cheek.  
"I win", he smiled and let himself fall on the ground, trying to catch his breath.  
"I hate it when you do this...", the younger male grumbled. "Now let me outta here!"  
Kakashi chuckled again, but put a hand on the ground next to the other's head, made a sign with the other and breathed: "Kai![5]"  
As soon as the earth around him loosened its grip, Naruto freed himself and sat down next to his teacher, sulking.  
"I hate this Jutsu..."  
"Well, to be honest, this was the only way for me to win", the silver haired male admitted, still out of breath.  
"Really?"  
"Really. I may have the experience, but your stamina is nothing but ridiculous."  
Naruto grinned again. Well, that was true indeed. He was barely sweating, and the small wounds on him were already disappearing.

Kakashi finally regained his breath and pulled his hitai-ate down to cover his Sharingan. He turned to his former student.  
"Why don't you use other Ninjutsu than Rasengan or its variations?", he asked, interested. The last time they fought like this was a long time ago. The other shrugged.  
"Never learned any."  
"You didn't? Why not?" That was surprising.  
"Well, there aren't any other Fūton[6] users I know of, and I'm no good at learning something completely by myself if I don't even have the slightest idea of what to do. Jutsu-scrolls are rare, too. And since my Taijutsu style doesn't fit with Chakra Blades, I can't even use it like Asuma-sensei did."  
Kakashi thought for a moment.  
"As far as I know, Fūton isn't that rare in Sunagakure no Sato. You could ask Gaara or Temari for some advice the next time you see them."[A]  
Now it was Naruto's turn to be surprised, but he quickly smiled. And in a short moment of courage, he even put an arm around his sensei and squeezed shortly. He ignored the raised eyebrow directed at him.  
"Thanks sensei, I'll sure as hell ask them! But, uhm, I kinda just thought of something... Couldn't you teach me another Chakra Nature? I mean, you know all the others, and well... I'm sort of the only Jōnin I know who can't use more than one..." He shifted a little bit, embarrassed from both the question and the confession.  
Kakashi watched his student critically for a moment before he eye-smiled.  
"Sure, why not. Do you have one in mind?"  
The blond nodded enthusiastically, beaming at his teacher, and opened his mouth to answer when a loud grumble emitted from his stomach. He closed his mouth again, even more embarrassed, and laughed awkwardly. His companion snorted in amusement.  
"I'm sure that wasn't the Kyūbi-"  
"Kurama", Naruto corrected automatically.  
"Kurama, sorry – so I guess we go eat something first, then continue with this?"  
Naruto nodded and jumped to his feet. He offered his sensei a hand again and pulled him up. His stomach growled again, but before he could hear another comment, the blond grabbed the other's wrist and pulled him into the village.

* * *

"Where do you wanna go?", Naruto asked when they reached the front gates. Kakashi, too exhausted to fight against the male tagging him along, thought for a moment. He could choose the place and his soon-to-be-student-again would pay. That called for something he usually wouldn't do.  
"How about the new restaurant near the Yamanaka flower shop?"  
Naruto inwardly winced. He had never been there, but he had heard that place was expensive... Oh well, when he wanted to get on _these_ terms with Kakashi...  
"Alright", and with that he went towards the restaurant. His teacher arched an eyebrow. He got the feeling his student had a plan...  
When they reached their destination, Naruto searched for a place a bit more secluded. Not only because of... well, he wanted some privacy, but because he wanted to spare Kakashi from inhaling his food. They sat down and when the waiter disappeared with their orders, the blond spoke up again.  
"Just so you know, when our food comes I'll concentrate on it so you can eat in peace without anyone peeking at your face. That's one of the reasons why I chose this table", he explained.  
The older male blinked in surprise. That was rather considerate, not many people voluntarily declined an opportunity where they could see him with his mask down.  
"That's... surprising, but very nice of you. And what's the other reason?"  
Naruto smiled at that, but it wasn't the wide smile he had seen countless times before, nor was it the strained one he knew as well. It was a smile he had never seen before, and somehow, it unnerved him.  
"Because I want to talk to you and get to know you without people constantly interrupting us. Especially since we're both rather famous."  
Kakashi blinked. O-kay... That was certainly not the answer he had been expecting. His student wanted to know him better? That sounded like this was a date or something... He blinked again. Or was it a date?  
"Naruto... Is this a date?", he asked, eying the other male seriously.  
"Only if you want it to be one." There was that smile from before again.  
"Do you want it to be one?"  
The smile faltered for a moment but returned quickly. "...Yes."

Something in Kakashi's brain simply _broke_ when he heard these words and suddenly he knew the meaning behind that smile. It was handsome. It was flirtatious in a way, and now that he saw what he was ought to see, he did see it. His once small and slightly chubby student had become one hell of a man. Nearly as tall as himself, slightly broader shoulders, defined muscles... But not in a creepy way like the Raikage.  
He leaned back in his stair and observed his student who seemed a bit nervous now. He arched his hidden brow and added that fact to the little pool of knowledge he had gathered so far. He ignored the waiter who returned with their orders as did Naruto who merely sat in his seat, fumbling with the seam of his sleeve waiting for a reaction. He ran through all the different scenarios in his head and, after another two minutes, came to a conclusion.

"Well...", he started but was interrupted when Naruto, startled by his voice, ripped a piece of fabric off of his sleeve and knocked a (thankfully empty) glass over. Carefully putting it back in its place, he looked at Kakashi, who wisely decided to continue like nothing had happened at all.  
"I guess we can give it a try. But you have to promise me that no matter what happens, it won't change anything. Like we're trying to upgrade, and if that fails we'll reboot to the last functional point, which was half an hour ago. Agreed?"  
A tiny little bit astonished because of that condition, Naruto could do nothing but nod his head. And then he smiled, when the words sunk in, and he understood that he was a very precious person for his teacher. A fuzzy feeling in his guts made itself know when he took up his chopsticks and started to eat, not even once looking up from his plate, just like he had promised.

"So, Chakra natures... You said you had one in mind?" Kakashi split his own chopsticks and ate as well. It was refreshing to be able to eat like a normal person outside of his apartment.  
The blond nodded and swallowed. "Yeah, I thought fire would be cool. I mean, I can strengthen it with wind so it goes even more boom!"  
_Interesting way to put it_, shot through Kakashi's head, as he became amused. He considered it for a moment.  
"You're right about that, but I think water is more suited for you."  
"Eh? Why?"  
The silver haired male casually put a hand in front of his face when he heard someone walking their way, but the person didn't even look in their direction. He continued to eat.  
"If I recall correctly, you and Sasuke usually go together on every mission above C-Rank, right? And you two have exceptional teamwork; not even mine and Gai's is as good, and we have known each other far longer." There was more than just a bit of pride in that statement. It was due to his teachings that Naruto and Sasuke worked so well together. _And_ their strange kind of rivalry/friendship or whatever they called it.  
"Yeah, we've noticed. What does that have to do with Chakra natures?"  
"Sasuke can use both fire and lightning, and you can use wind. Do you remember why you deemed it fitting when Yamato and I told you about it?"  
Naruto pondered for a moment, chopstick stopping midway from the plate to his mouth.  
"Yeah... because on one hand I could keep his lighting at bay, and on the other hand I can make his fire stronger." He blinked and nearly looked up when he too got the idea. "And with water I could keep his fire at bay and make his lightning stronger! You're a genius, sensei!"  
Kakashi smiled, "Not only that, but it works the other way round as well. You see, most Suiton[7] Jutsu you could learn are more of a supportive rather than destructive nature, but together with his lightning even small puddles to stall the enemy can become deadly traps. You increase the area of his attacks, and he can make yours more effective."  
"So we'll make an even better team then. Awesome!" Naruto punched the air, but since he still had his eyes glued on the plate in front of him it looked kind of strange.  
"When do you have time? I think I already have one or two easy Jutsu in mind to start with."  
"I'm going on a mission tomorrow, but nothing bad. Just taking a letter to some merchant who asked for permission to stay in the village for a few days. I'll be back in three days, so maybe Thursday?"  
Kakashi nodded, he always managed to get some time to spare if he wanted to. Especially since all the Hidden Villages were at peace.  
"9 am at training ground 5? We could go have lunch together and then continue with the training, if you want to."  
He could see a broad smile spreading on the younger male's face at his words, who then nodded.  
"Sure."

For the rest of the meal they simply updated each other on their current life. Naruto learned that Kakashi had actually wanted to rejoin ANBU when the blond had made Chūnin, but was rejected because of his age -he had to snicker at that and was promptly awarded with a kick to his shin- and that Mr. Ukki was still alive and growing. He heard some funny stories about Gekimayu-sensei and his challenges -he had once dared Kakashi to use the Oiroke no Jutsu[8] to see which of them was the prettier woman, but Kakashi had refused. Naruto got another kick when he asked why- and how Tsunade-baa-chan threw a tantrum when he plainly told her "Not ever again" and left after she asked him to take on another Genin-team.  
Naruto in turn told about how Sasuke was an asshole, no surprise there, about a mission where a woman even older than the Tsuchikage had tried to get into his pants and he had to flee for his dear life -Kakashi chocked on his food when he heard that one, and after that he laughed. Hard. And then _he_ got kicked.- He wasn't that surprised when he learned of the short relationship of sorts his students had, and merely stated that he kind of saw that coming, but promised none the less that he wouldn't tell anyone else.  
After they were done eating Naruto paid for their food like he had promised, even if he shot a sad look at his now very thin Gama-chan. But, he decided, it was very well worth it. He had really enjoyed it, and he told his teacher so.  
Kakashi simply eye-smiled and waved goodbye before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

The next few weeks passed in no time at all, or at least Naruto had the feeling they did. He had successfully learned two minor, and one major, water Jutsus thanks to his Kage Bunshin, and he would never forget the look on Sasuke's face when he had first used one in front of him in the middle of a mission. But the raven quickly caught on and sent some electricity into the water, frying the enemies standing in it. With this, a grinning Naruto and an evilly smirking Sasuke concluded, they were even _more_ one hell of a deadly duo.

With Kakashi everything went smooth. When they both had the time they trained, ate together, trained some more, and sparred. They'd never before known each other as good as they did now and since their last date, they could even call themselves an item, even if the blond had to swear on his life to never tell anything about the older male's face to anyone, but the pride swelling in his chest for being one of the very few living persons knowing it sure made up for it. Naruto had developed some rather serious feelings for his former teacher and was therefore on cloud nine the last days, much to the annoyance of most of his friends, especially Sasuke. He had even kicked the blond out of his apartment more than once, because 'now it's even less possible to have a decent conversation' with him. And what did Naruto do? He sulked for a moment, thought about kicking the door in and beating the shit out of his friend, but then decided to pay his currently favourite person a visit. As far as he knew, Kakashi had returned from a rather tiring mission that night and could probably use some company.

What started with a nice, casual visit containing a nice dinner and some kisses here and there, soon turned out into an evening that told Naruto just how kinky his new boyfriend could be. Seriously, he'd never thought of using his Kage Bunshin's like... _that_. And while he lay sprawled on his teacher's couch in his post coital daze, he tried to gather his senses enough to form a coherent sentence. He heard Kakashi shuffling through the apartment when he suddenly felt something being thrown onto his stomach. He blinked slowly. Then he blinked again, and after some seconds he looked at the something. Another blink. His clothes. He heard chuckling somewhere but couldn't quite process it, and instead he tried to get into his underwear. It wasn't that easy if you felt like you had no bones, or even muscles, at all.  
Naruto successfully fulfilled his mission and stilled again. That had been exhausting...

"Am I that good?" he heard another chuckle and Naruto turned his head to look at its source. A satisfied smile settled on his features. At least he was able to think straight again now, perhaps even talk?  
"Mhmm- Where did you learn that stuff?" A complete, correct sentence. Yay him!  
But instead of receiving an answer, Kakashi merely patted a small pile of books on his commode. Naruto looked closer at them and nearly fell from the couch.  
"Icha Icha? But there wasn't any of this stuff in the one I had to read!", he exclaimed shocked.  
Kakashi shot him a dazzling smile and the blond felt something warm rising in his guts.  
"You probably only read the normal edition. These are the limited, extended editions."  
Naruto's blue eyes grew so huge one might think they were about to explode.  
"And the thing with the Kage Bunshin?"  
This time the silver haired male tapped against his temple, now smirking. The blond had to snort at that, amused.  
"Figures."

After a few more minutes, enough of Naruto's strength had returned for him to get completely dressed again. He watched his still half-naked boyfriend tidying up after their adventure, aka changing the sheets, and shuffling around some more, until the blond grabbed the other's wrist while the older male passed the couch he now sat on. Naruto pulled the other down next to him, threw his thighs over his lap, and leaned back against the arm of the couch.  
"Enough shuffling, I have to leave in twenty minutes. The teme and I are going on a mission tomorrow morning."  
"Do you know when you'll be back?", Kakashi asked, stroking the leg in front of him.  
Naruto shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips, "No. We're escorting some dude to the capitol. Depends on how slow he is, but I think maximum ten days, probably less. I'll contact you when I'm back."  
The older male simply nodded and they sat in a comfortable silence, Kakashi fondling the other's thighs and Naruto playing with the taller male's hair, occasionally moving his fingers across the pale neck. Kakashi wasn't usually the cuddly type, but right now was an exception. They just had mind-blowing sex and they wouldn't get another chance for at least a week.

When the twenty minutes were over, Naruto sighed deeply and reluctantly let go of his partner. He stretched and felt his joints jumping back into place before he looked at the other again. A grin appeared on his features when he suddenly ruffled the older male's hair,his hand being slapped away with a playful growl. The blond leaned down for a last deep kiss, before he pulled the famous mask back into place and turned to leave, but then an idea struck his head. He faced the older male again and pointed at the books behind him.  
"Hey, can I burrow those for a while?"  
Kakashi looked at him, at the books, back at him and started laughing.  
"You've become curious now, huh? I thought those were trash?"  
Naruto shrugged and then grinned despite the hint of red on his cheeks.  
"Well, I was young and clueless back then."  
The older male chuckled again before he stood up, but instead of grabbing the books on the commode, he went to a bookshelf and picked up some books before giving them to the blond.  
Naruto looked at them and then frowned.  
"'Icha Icha Paradise – Extended Edition', and 'Violence' and 'Tactics' as well. Why these and not those?" He pointed to the pile behind them again.  
"Because those were signed by Jiraiya-sama before he gave them to me. Nobody gets them. I bought those in your hand before that, so I don't really need them anymore. You can keep them, if you want."  
The blond looked at him surprised. He could keep them?  
"Cool!" He put them away in the pouch on his back before tugging the other's mask down again, giving him a chaste kiss, before putting it back into place. He waved, then left the apartment.

* * *

[3]Mokuton = Wood Release

[4]Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu = Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique

[5]Kai! = Release!

[6]Fūton = Wind Release

[A]_"As far as I know, Fūton isn't that rare in Sunagakure no Sato. You could ask Gaara or Temari for some advice the next time you see them."_

First, it's canon that Gaara uses Fūton, he uses two different Fūton techniques. Well, he does while using Shukaku, but let's not split hairs now. Also, I have noticed something... Iwa, located in Tsuchi no Kuni, The Country of Earth, specializes in Doton.  
Kumo, located in Kaminari no Kuni, The Country of Lightning, specializes in Raiton.  
Kiri, located in Mizu no Kuni, The Country of Water, specializes in Suiton.  
Why not continue that trail in thought, meaning Konoha, located in Hi no Kuni, The Country of Fire, specializes in Katon and Suna, located in Kaze no Kuni, The Country of Wind, specializes in Fūton. In fact, there are quite a few Fire users in Konoha. I kind of figured that the name of the countries have a bit more of a meaning. I'm not saying everyone in Suna can use Wind, merely that it's rather common there, just like Fire is common in Konoha, Earth in Iwa and so on.

* * *

And here's the second chapter! Yay me and beta-san!  
Two things though; Most of you might have noticed my paragraphs are different now. Well, you see... The way they are now is the way I learned utilizing line breaks. And most other people in my country, too, I think... In the last chapter, beta-san changed them to fit the more American way. I tried to go along with it, but sadly I can't. It looks just wrong to me whenever I look at it, sorry folks, and I feel bad for uploading something I'm not satisfied with.  
But that lead's us straightly to the other thing, namely: I did some changes in the first chapter. Nothing story-wise, only line-breaks, paragraph and a few of these lines whose name I don't know. Not even FFN does, or so it seems

Well, the next chapter is already with my beta and I'll upload it as soon as she's done and I've looked through the changes.

By the way... I'm happy so many people favourited this story or followed it, but I am a bit sad that no one left a Review. I won't force you guys to write one, that's not my style, but it would surely make me happy to know what you think of this! Even if you didn't like it, don't be shy and just tell me what and why.

Well, stay tuned for more!


	3. Chapter 3

Eight days later, Naruto and Sasuke were back at the village. The former with a little red book in his hand, and a smug grin on his features, the latter switching between sneering at the other, and shaking his head in amusement. His best friend had been turned into another Kakashi. Jiraiya would be proud. But when Naruto had told him what he and his partner had done that very day... Sasuke couldn't help but feel a bit jealous, even if he hadn't been told any juicy details, no matter how persistent the raven had been. He _had_ convinced the blond, however, to let him read the books as soon as he was done.  
He blinked. He was turning into another pervert. Damn.

They went directly to the Hokage tower to report their uneventful mission, and ended up enduring Tsunade throwing yet _another_ tantrum, and proclaiming she would kill Kakashi when she recognized the book in her little brother's hand. They had a hard time calming her down again. It was only when Naruto pointed out that he was an adult, and would be very, very sad if the woman killed his boyfriend, (she gawked for a moment at that; they hadn't particularly kept their relationship a secret, but Kakashi wasn't one for PDA) that she finally relaxed a bit.

When they left the tower again and began walking through the village, Sasuke turned to his friend.  
"Where do we go tonight?"  
They had a sort-of-ritual that after every mission which was at least B-rank (like this one), they would go for a drink the night they returned. But to the raven's surprise, Naruto shook his head, his eyes not leaving the book.  
"Sorry, I promised Kakashi to visit him when I got back."  
Sasuke stared at his friend for a moment. Naruto had gained the awful habit to kind of ignore him over the past few weeks, and now his patience had run out.  
"Oh, so now that you've successfully wooed Kakashi I'm unimportant, or what?" They'd not once in the last 14 months skipped this particular ritual. Naruto looked at him, frowning, before he stopped. Sasuke stood as well.  
"Don't be stupid, teme. But I haven't seen him in more than a week, and I've seen you every day."  
"So? That was a mission, and we've always gone out after missions like this! Even after you-know-what!" The raven's voice rose in volume.  
"It's just today, why are you so mad? It's not like I said I won't ever go out with you again." Naruto closed the book in his hand and put it away. They ignored their audience.  
"Just today?", the Uchiha hissed, "Just _today_?! You've ditched me _six_ times ever since you started your thing with Kakashi, and half of those times you didn't even fucking notice!"  
"What?", Naruto blinked, "No way."  
"Yes way. The first time-" Sasuke held out a finger "-was after your first date, when Aoba and I returned from our mission. You're usually at my place before I'm even back to pester me about the outcome-"  
"You always say it annoys you, so-", the blond started, but was ignored.  
"The second time was a week after that. I asked you for a spar and you just waved me off because you had another date. The third time was the day after that, same event. The fourth time is really funny", Sasuke laughed dryly, four fingers in the air now, "The day after _that_, you promised to spar with me that afternoon, but -surprise, surprise- you never showed up! Number five-"  
"It's okay now, I got it!", Naruto interrupted, glaring hard at his so-called friend, "Well, I'm sorry, but I do have a life outside of you now!"  
"That's not the point-" This time, it was Sasuke who was interrupted.  
"That's exactly the point! Do you think I'm stupid? Yeah, I know you do, but guess what? I do have some brain cells as well. You're just mad that I don't jump every time you call me anymore, that you've lost your favourite toy to kill some time. But you know what? I don't fucking care! I have a life as well, and it consists of spending time with people that aren't you, too, and if you're too much of a _bitch_ to accept that-"  
"FINE! _Fine_, do whatever you want, I don't fucking care! Go to your lover, go! I won't ask you for something again, I don't even know why I do at all! But don't come to me when you're bored, or when he ditches you, got it?! Bye!" And with that, Sasuke stormed off.  
"I won't, don't worry!", Naruto yelled after him, angrily stomping in the other direction.

In the audience, two young women looked at each other.  
"I haven't heard them fighting like that for years...", one of them stated, worried. The other nodded.  
"Yeah, this one's serious, not the usual banter."  
They were silent for a moment, until one of them spoke up again.  
"I guess I better talk to Sasuke-kun. Naruto will go to Kakashi, but Sasuke-kun..."  
The other nodded, a crooked smile on her features, and she took off.

It wasn't hard for her to find him, especially not with the noise coming from the training grounds, where he let out his anger. When she arrived, her eyes grew big. He had only been here for like three minutes, and already half of the area surrounding him was completely destroyed. She carefully approached him while he stood there, Chidori Shinsō-ing [9] multiple trees around him at once, turning every one of them into dust.  
"Sasuke-kun?"  
He whipped around, Sharingan swirling frantically and panting harshly, the anger practically emitting from him in thick waves. She took a step back.  
"Sakura. Leave."  
She hesitantly shook her head and tried to approach him, but the sword pointing at her throat stopped her.  
"Now", he seethed.  
Sakura watched him a moment, before something akin to pitying love settled in her eyes. She sighed and gave a small, sad smile.  
"I'll go. But... when you feel like talking, you know where I am." She turned around and walked away. She met up with Ino again, who was still at the café where they had sat when her two friends had shouted at each other. She shook her head while she sat down again.  
"No use. He threatened me..."  
The blonde nodded and sighed, looking in the direction of where Naruto had stomped off.  
"I think Naruto doesn't realize just how deeply Sasuke-kun cares about him..."  
Sakura shook her head, "But then again, he never has, right?"

Sasuke let out his anger and frustration on his environment for another few hours, far into the dark night. He was panting harshly, his uniform completely ruined. He fell to his knees, leaning heavily on his sword. He stayed like that for a while until he finally regained his breath. He was completely exhausted, both physically and mentally. He wasn't one to mope around, and preferred action over words, after all, like his destroyed surroundings proved. Staring numbly at the ground in front of him, he whispered a few words into the night, words he had once long ago spoken to his brother.  
"I don't mind you being with someone else and spending time with them, you idiot... It's okay, as long as we can be together sometimes..."  
He slowly pulled himself up into a standing position and headed home.

Naruto, on the other hand, had stormed into Kakashi's apartment, nearly broken down the door with his knocking, and simply grabbed his partner, dragging him into the bedroom as soon as it had been opened. Kakashi had been rather surprised, but he had decided to ask his questions later. He was a man, after all. And some time later, when they both lay sprawled on his bed trying to gather their thoughts again, he finally asked.  
"Not that I'm complaining... but what was that about?"  
Naruto stayed silent for a while before he finally huffed and answered.  
"The teme was being an asshole again. He accused me of only spending time with you and not him, the sissy", he hissed angrily and turned to face his lover. The older male raised his eyebrows, a tiny little bit of worry settling in his gut. That didn't sound good... And Naruto _had_ been spending an awful lot of time at his place in the past weeks. He didn't voice that out loud however, they were adults now and it wasn't his job to look out for them anymore. Even if he didn't like the sound of everything.

* * *

The next sixteen days were not pretty. Whenever Sasuke and Naruto were in the same room, the air around them practically vibrated with anger, and even if they ignored each other as much as possible, broken furniture and other things had become rather common. Several people tried to talk to the both of them about it, but, stubborn like they were, they refused to listen. And where Sasuke took any mission he got, Naruto refused to go on any of them unless Kakashi would come, too.

And Kakashi... Well, Kakashi was getting both tired and irritated by the blond's affectionate behavior. Among other things, like the fact that Naruto was at his apartment nearly 24/7, and even got there before Kakashi himself got out of bed. The whole thing made him think about certain other things, and on this very same day, when he again awakened due to the sound of someone preparing breakfast in his kitchen, he finally decided to do something about it. And so he stood up, got dressed and made his way he into the kitchen where the blond greeted him with a kiss, like every morning, before he continued preparing something to eat. Kakashi soundlessly sighed and sat at the table.  
"Naruto, we have to talk."  
"Mhm? What is it?" The blond fumbled with the knot in a plastic bag for a bit, until he simply ripped it open.  
Preparing himself inwardly for the reaction, and praying that he'd survive this, the older male spoke.  
"I think it would be better if we break up."

Naruto froze mid-step. It was silent for a while, until he turned and looked at the taller male with a strange expression on his face. Taking that as the hint to continue, Kakashi opened his mouth again.  
"I don't think we're really fitted for this. I'm not really the affectionate type while you certainly are, and to be honest... It has been strange the whole time for me. I know you're you, but sometimes I can't help but... see you father standing in front of me. That's plain awkward, and kind of wrong. And sometimes I still see the 12 year old boy you once were, and that makes it even stranger..."  
Kakashi was sorry, he really was. Even more so when the young man in front of him stayed strangely emotionless. He wondered what would happen now... But a selfish little part inside of him reminded him of the promise Naruto had given him that one day in the restaurant; that no matter what happened, they would still stay comrades, friends.  
Some more time passed in which Naruto studied the other's uncovered face, until he said something. His throat felt dry.  
"I... see", he forced a smile on his face, "Well... then I'm sorry to have wasted your time-"  
"No! You did not waste my time. It was nice while it lasted, you're a great partner, we're just not-"  
"Yeah yeah, I get it, 'we're not meant to be' and all this junk. I think I better leave now. I'll... return your stuff later." The blond suddenly felt a tingling in his eyes. He wanted, _needed_ to leave, now, or else he'd embarrass himself even more.  
"Don't. I gave those things to you and I want you to keep them", Kakashi retorted softly, carefully observing the other. He flinched when he saw the tears threatening to fall.  
"Okay. Bye then."  
Naruto rushed out of the apartment, not once looking back to see the pained expression on the other's face.  
"Bye..."

As soon as the door behind him closed softly with a 'click', Naruto shunshin-ed back to his apartment, and threw himself onto the bed he had left only half an hour ago. He simply laid there, face pressed into the pillow, trying to ignore the constantly increasing wetness in his eyes and on his cheeks. He was not some teenage girl, he was a grown man and nearly 19 years old! And he would handle it as one, dammit! He tightly shut his eyes and dug his fingers into the sheets. This had been his first real relationship. He had developed some serious feelings for Kakashi, and now he had been ditched... _I have every damn right to feel like this, dang it!_ He grabbed the stuffed toad Sasuke had once given to him after Naruto had pestered him enough about it.  
Sasuke.  
He felt another sharp pain in his heart before a bitter smile tugged at his lips. He'd finally messed up enough to be completely alone again, after years of finally being acknowledged. But right now, he found himself enjoying his solitude, because this way, no one would ask embarrassing questions.  
Tightly pressing the toad to his chest, he threw the covers over himself and turned around, now facing the wall.  
Life simply sucked right now.

* * *

Over the next few days, no one saw the blond Jinchūriki outside of his apartment at all. His friends were worried, but they didn't know what they should do. He refused to talk to anyone, not even acknowledging their presence in his home. Sakura went up to Kakashi to get some answers from him, but she got nothing more than a short shaking of his head and sad look, accompanied by a deep sigh. Something akin to pity came into her eyes then, and after some tries to get Naruto to talk to her. she concluded one thing: They'd need Sasuke for this. Problem was though, the raven was out on yet _another_ mission, and no one was really sure when he'd return. And so she summoned Katsuyu, explained the situation and instantly had two small slugs in her hands. She stationed one at the gate and carried the other around with her, that way she'd know immediately when her former crush returned.  
A few more days later, Katsuyu poked her head out of Sakura's pouch while she was eating lunch with Ino and Shizune at the hospital.[B]  
"Sakura-sama, Sasuke-kun has returned. He is currently speaking with the guards."  
Sakura jumped from her chair and rushed out of the hospital. The sooner she dragged Sasuke-kun's ass to Naruto, the sooner everything would be back to normal again. And Kakashi could finally stop feeling sorry all the time.  
"How is he? Is he hurt anywhere?"  
"I did not see any injuries. He seems very tired however."  
"Alright. Thank you, Katsuyu-sama. You may go now."  
"Very well. I hope Naruto-kun will come to his senses soon." And with that, the small slug disappeared in a puff of smoke.

A short moment later, Sakura arrived at the gate and the first thing she did when she saw her childhood crush walking into the village was throwing a punch at him.  
Completely caught off guard, he stared at her for a moment while she crossed her arms and frowned at him.  
"What do you think you're-"  
"Kakashi dumped Naruto and he hasn't come out of his apartment in days", Sakura interrupted him, her eyes narrowing when she saw his gaze becoming cold. "I don't care what you two are fighting over now, but fix it."  
"No", Sasuke simply said and turned to leave again. The girl grabbed his arm and spun him forcefully around, not flinching when she saw red eyes glaring back at her.  
"Why do I always have to take care of him?!"  
"Because you are his best friend, and probably the only one who knows what's going on in that thick head he has." Her features suddenly softened. "Please... No one managed to get him out of there. He didn't even acknowledge Lee-san's presence when he challenged him. And the only thing he did when Kiba tried was throwing the stuffed frog he's been clutching the whole time at him."  
Sasuke's eyes widened the tiniest bit. Naruto still had it...? He looked into Sakura's pleading eyes and finally rolled his own, Sharingan disappearing.  
"Fine... Fine, I'll go to him." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, muttering to himself, "I swear, this is worse than taking care of a little kid..."  
The young woman smiled at him gratefully and gave him a little shove into the right direction, a little more forcefully than necessary. Grimacing shortly at the pain in his back, he made his way to the blond's apartment.

When he arrived, he sighed once more while fishing in his pockets for his keys. He opened the door and entered the flat, heading straight for the bedroom. He frowned at the darkness in the rooms, and when he pushed the door the bedroom open, he froze.  
Empty Instant Ramen-cups, clothes, books and scrolls were littered everywhere, Naruto himself lying motionlessly in his bed under the covers. Sasuke scrunched his nose at the mess. He had finally forced the blond to keep his apartment clean over a year ago when had shoved a Ramen cup with spoiled leftovers and some bugs into his face. He sighed again, and walked over to the unmoving figure on the bed.  
"Oi, dobe."  
He was mildly surprised, and a bit disturbed, when the younger male didn't even flinch at hearing his voice.  
"I can't believe you. Hiding in here and moping around like a little girl... Pathetic, really", the raven continued casually, leaning against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest. At hearing this, Naruto stirred and slowly turned around enough to look at the other. Sasuke inwardly flinched. He couldn't remember if he had seen those blues eyes like... _that_ once before. He didn't like it. Not one bit.  
"I know why you're here. Sakura sent you, didn't she? Well, we both know you don't want to be here, so just leave, will ya?" And with that, Naruto turned away again.  
Sasuke looked at him incredulously.  
"Don't you think I'd have been able to get rid of her if I wanted to? Actually, right now, I think you like this. You like staying here, being pitied by everyone else and wallowing in your self-loathing. But guess what? I don't like it, and since I'm your friend, I'll sure as hell kick your ass out of here if I have to."  
Naruto whipped around again and glared at him, but that soon faded again and he slumped down, covering his eyes with his arm.  
"Why are you even here?", he asked softly, "You told me not to come to you, and yet here you are."  
Sasuke sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, showing a side of himself only Naruto would ever see.  
"Like I said, I'm your friend... And I'm sorry about what I said back then, I was mad and because of that unreasonable-"  
"No. No you weren't unreasonable", the blonde interrupted him, "I thought about it these past days -it's not like I had anything else to do- and you were right. I was an asshole. I completely forgot about my friends, even you. I should've realized, but I didn't. I'm sorry."  
Sasuke shook his head, leaning back against the headboard.  
"But still, I shouldn't have made such a scene. I knew you were a lovesick puppy and needed some sense knocked into you again, but instead I let my anger get the better of me. I guess love really does make people blind, huh?"  
They both smiled, Naruto's bitter and Sasuke's crooked.  
"Yeah, seems that way."

Silence settled between them in which Sasuke discreetly observed the blond who started playing around with the stuffed toad on his stomach.  
"I can't believe you still have it", the raven stated and nodded at the toad. Naruto chuckled a bit, and made the stuffed animal salute at him.  
"Sure I do. You gave it to me, that's reason enough to keep it."  
"Now you're being sappy", Sasuke replied, a small smile tugging at his lips. His friend only shrugged and punched him in the ribs with the toad's stuffed hand. After a while, he spoke up again.  
"I'm not even that sure why it's taking me so long to come clear with the whole shit. I mean, it's not like Kakashi was being mean or something, quite the opposite actually, but somehow..."  
"... What did he say?"  
With a sigh Naruto told him the exact word's his ex-lover had said to him that day. Not only because he wanted to talk about it to someone badly, but to prevent some accidents happening to Kakashi otherwise.  
"You're right, it was really sensible of him to put it that way. Too bad, now I don't have a reason to hurt him."  
The blond threw the toad at Sasuke's face, who only caught it and placed it in his own lap.  
"Don't do that. I can take care of myself."  
The raven raised an eyebrow and threw a meaningful gaze at the mess in the room.  
"... Okay, I can _usually_ take care of myself. Better?"  
Sasuke nodded, along with the toad in his hands.  
"But I'll come around again, I promise. I just need some more time without seeing him... I really, really liked him, you know?" Naruto closed his eyes and sighed deeply. The other simply looked at him. If that was what being heartbroken was like... he'd rather go without it. After a few more moments the Jinchūriki peeked at him and raised his arm, finger's curled into a fist.  
"Everything's good again?"  
Sasuke smiled slightly, before he lightly bumped his own fist against the other's.  
"Everything's good again."

Soon after that, the raven decided he had been soft long enough, and shoved his friend ungracefully out of the bed, pointed at the mess in the room and simply said, "Clean it. Now." He ignored the other's growling when he got to work, and the Uchiha sat down on the bed again, watching his friend get rid of the trash lying around and put books and scrolls back into the shelves. When Naruto was nearly done, Sasuke got up and moved into the kitchen to prepare a real meal for the both of them, even if he was dead tired and actually wanted nothing more than to sleep for at least twelve hours straight. With a quick glance out of the window he noticed it was already dark outside. He should head home soon. With a wince he remembered that he still needed to report to Tsunade as well... but that'd have to wait until tomorrow. And if the blond woman would yell at him, he could always blame Sakura for everything. It was her fault, after all.  
They ate in silence, and as soon as they were done, Sasuke made an attempt to leave the apartment.  
"I'll go home now. Don't do anything more stupid than you usually do, got it?"  
But before he could even go past the kitchen table, a hand grabbed his wrist and stopped him.  
"Stay here tonight... please."  
Sasuke watched his friend for a while, both staying silent. Naruto didn't look at him, but the grip around his wrist was strong. After a while, he sighed and nodded. Somehow, he wasn't all that surprised by that request. And so they simply put away their dishes and went to bed.

A few hours later, Sakura climbed up the wall to get to the window of Naruto's apartment. She hadn't heard anything from neither him nor Sasuke the whole day, and she just wanted to check on them... Not that they finally killed each other or something. She peeked through the window, eyes trying to focus on the place where she knew the bed was, and when she made out two humanly shaped schemes in the dark, a bright smile appeared on her features. One of them was curled up on the bed, head underneath a pillow, and the other lying on his stomach, arm and leg sprawled across the first person.  
_That's kind of childish... But well, it's not like they really had time to be childish when they were children, ne?,_ she thought to herself, disappearing into the night. _Naruto, Sasuke-kun... Your friendship reaches far deeper than anything this village has seen before. And I'll continue making sure that this fact won't change…_

* * *

The next morning, Sasuke was roughly awakened by a hand shoving him off the edge off the bed, making him fall hard on the ground. He sat there for a moment, until he heard someone snickering above him and glared at that someone.  
"_Naruto-_"  
"Oh, suck it up. You should know better than letting me sleep on the side facing the wall."  
Sasuke growled. As sad as it was, Naruto was right. That had been stupid of him. Cursing under his breath the raven got to his feet and punched the smaller one's head before getting some of his clothes out of the closet and getting dressed. When his eyes fell on the bag with the empty ramen cups, a thought came to his mind.  
"By the way... As I've been told you haven't left your apartment since... then. How did you stock up on those?" He pointed at the bag.  
Naruto pulled his shirt over his head and shrugged.  
"Kage Bunshin plus Henge[10]." He may be depressed, but not as much as to try and starve himself to death.  
Sasuke blinked. That was... smart. But sadly, he didn't have the time to stay here any longer and got ready to leave, not without promising however to drag Naruto's sorry ass out of the apartment as soon as he was done with Tsunade and Sakura, and whoever else was going to annoy him today. The blond simply waved him off at that.  
"Hai, hai, tō-chan."  
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched.  
"What did you just call me...?"  
"Tō-chan. Or do you prefer kā-chan?" Naruto dodged the book that was thrown at him, snickering madly.  
"Nah, you're too ugly to be my kā-chan." Another book flew at him and an idea struck his head along with it.  
"I know! You'll be teme-nii-chan from now on!"

The next thing Naruto knew was that he was on the floor with a killer headache. And judging from the sunlight outside of his apartment, it was around noon. Carefully brushing his fingers across the throbbing bruise on his head, he couldn't help but chuckle.  
_Seems like teme-nii-chan likes his new nickname..._

* * *

True to his promise, Sasuke returned in the early afternoon. He wasn't very gentle about it though and simply grabbed the blond's collar and dragged him out of the apartment. Naruto tried to free himself, shouting curses and insults at his friend who didn't even twitch at them. A few of his friends tried to come closer to talk to him, but a warning glare from the Uchiha taught them better. The Jinchūriki didn't really care to notice about that in his rampage, but his little tantrum however ended as soon as he realized they were heading to Ichiraku. The fury in his eyes was replaced with bliss and all his wriggling ended.  
They sat down and Teuchi beamed at his favorite customer. He wasn't all that up to date, but he had been worried when Naruto hadn't shown up at their place for such a long time. The blond smiled back and ordered his favorite ramen. While they were eating, Naruto interrogated his friend about his latest missions and noticed with an inward smile that no difficult non-solo missions were among them. So even then Sasuke refused to go without him, even if he didn't say it out loud.  
When they were done, Naruto reached for Gama-chan to pay for his meal, but before he could do so Sasuke shook his head.  
"My treat. You haven't done any missions lately and therefore didn't get any salary. The last thing I need is you showing up on my doorstep 'cause you couldn't pay your rent, idiot."  
The blond ignored the insult and threw his arms around Sasuke's neck, who instantly tried to shove him off again.  
"Awww, nii-chan worries about me!"

Another pair watching the whole interaction chuckled when Naruto was thrown into the fence on the other side of the street after he said something while hugging a struggling Sasuke. The young woman with pink hair nudged the man next to her in the ribs.  
"It's unbelievable how fast Sasuke-kun made him go back to his senses, ne? Sensei?"  
Kakashi eye-smiled at her and nodded.  
"They may not really realize it, but... I think all they really need is each other."  
Sakura looked at him astounded.  
"Do you mean-" She stopped talking when he shook his head.  
"No, not that way. Don't tell anyone, but Naruto told me they had been an item for a few weeks, and that it had been a disaster." He thought for a moment, "No, not like that at all. They need each other on a whole other level, something far deeper than that. And while each of them might need, and mostly want, others as well, just like Naruto with me, they won't be able to be truly happy without each other. Or why do you think did Naruto succeed in erasing the hatred within Sasuke? And why Sasuke let him erase it?"  
Sakura thought about it for a moment before she agreed. Indeed. They were all great friends, and she knew she held a special place in both of their hearts, just like they did in hers, but between her two boys existed something special. Something she again resolved to protect, no matter what. She owed it to them.

* * *

[7]Suiton = Water Release

[8]Oiroke no Jutsu = Sexy Technique

[9]Chidori Shinsō = Chidori (True) Spear

[10]Henge no Jutsu = Transformation Technique

[B]A few more days later, Katsuyu poked her head out of Sakura's pouch while she was eating lunch with Ino and Shizune at the hospital.

I know Katsuyu doesn't actually have a gender, for she's a slug and slug's are hermaphrodites, but for the lack of a proper pronoun, I'll go with the English Version of the Anime/Manga for once and refer to her as a female. And since Manda and Gamabunta are definitely male, they need some female influence in their team.

* * *

And here's number three! This chapter came out way more serious than I intended it to bet. Heck, I actually didn't want any kind of seriousness in this, but well... What the story wants, the story gets, aye?

Thanks again to beta-san **PshhhdAnonymous **for proofreading and my nee-chan for putting up with all my whining and fanirling while writing this. =D

Any kind of review is very much appreciated, just like followers and favourites. Like always, don't own, don't earn, don't anything.

One more chapter to go!


	4. Chapter 4

A few months later, everything was back to normal again. The awkward moments when Naruto and Kakashi met were long since gone, and they even went on missions together again. In addition to that, they resumed their Suiton training. The only difference was that where Naruto had been eager for a relationship before, he was now hesitant and decided to stay single for now.

On this particular evening, he was being dragged by Ino to a bar on the far side of the village.  
"Oh, come now! You haven't been to a party in _ages_, and today even Kankurō and Temari are there! They'll leave again tomorrow, so you _have_ to come!"  
"Okay, okay..." It wasn't like he really had a choice, now did he? "Geez, let go now, I can walk on my own, you know?"  
"Not so sure about that...", she replied but removed her hand from his collar nonetheless.  
"Who else is going to be there?"  
"Everyone from our class back then; Lee, Neji and Tenten, Kankurō and Temari of course, like I said, Sai, Genma, Izumo, Kotetsu, Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei, and I think that's it..."  
"Why not Gekimayu-sensei?" Naruto inquired, even though he was unsure about him being there. Gejimayu[11] would certainly spread enough 'youthfulness' for the both of them.  
"He's not in the village, thank gods... And you'll have to help me ensure that Lee doesn't drink any alcohol. It took me _hours_ to convince the owner of that bar to let us use it tonight." She sighed deeply. Naruto groaned.  
"Damn, you're right... Why did you invite him anyway?"  
She raised an eyebrow at him.  
"Not doing so would've have been mean... Besides, if he heard about it somewhere, he'd have come anyway."  
"Yeah, you're right..."

* * *

A few hours later, the party had reached its peak and Naruto had learned some interesting, and slightly disturbing, things about some of his friends. For example that Tenten was a _scary_ drunk. She acted all normal most of the time, but whenever you said something to her she didn't like... well, the various weapons scattered over the place were self-explanatory. Or that Shino became quite talkative, and Shikamaru... was oddly depressed. He currently sat next to him, head on his arms and muttering about how everyone shamelessly took advantage of his brain, and that some people even came to him for the easiest things.  
Naruto absently patted his shoulder, not really paying attention. Another thing he had discovered was that Kankurō, acting as the DJ, had a strange taste in music.  
"Just what is this...? 'I just had sex and it felt so good'? I mean... seriously?!", he asked Chōji who sat in front of him, swaying on his chair and shoving some snacks against his cheeks. Some of the other songs he'd heard were strange as well... Something about sweat dropping from a ceiling, or someone creaming his pants because of eating a grape... The other male shrugged before standing up.  
"I better go home now", he gripped onto the table to steady himself again, "I'll take Shikamaru with me. Good luck for the night", he added, slinging his friend's arm over his shoulder before they both staggered out of the bar.  
Naruto looked after them, a bit tipsy himself, but probably still one of the most sober ones.

He looked around. Sasuke was playing a card game with Genma, Kotetsu and Izumo, seemingly enjoying himself considering the smug grin on his lips, and Ino, Tenten, Temari and Sakura sat in a corner, heads together, giggling like the girls they were. Lee was with them with one of his Kage Bunshins making sure he wouldn't even sniff at a bottle of sake.  
A new song he didn't know boomed out of the speakers and the blond shot a look at Kankurō. The puppeteer had gotten rid of his hood some time ago, and now the zipper of his jacket was pulled down as well. Where the hell did he get this music...? He nipped at his sake, only to throw the cup away when suddenly a white blur ran past him and hid behind his back.  
"Naruto, help me... Tenten wants me to... to do _things_...", a disturbed and dishevelled Neji pleaded into his ear. Naruto blinked.  
"Things...?" He wasn't so sure he wanted to know.  
Said female appeared in front of him and tried to grab the Hyūga's sleeve.  
"Oh, come on now, Neji! It's not so bad!  
"No!"  
Naruto decided to interfere before his bottle of sake followed his cup to the floor.  
"Tenten... I have no idea what all this is about, but if Neji doesn't want to do it you shouldn't force him." He raised his finger in a teacher like fashion. The young woman in front of him huffed.  
"It's not like I want to rape him... I just want him to dance!" Naruto blinked again, but the distressed sound next to his ear made him shake his head.  
"No, Tenten... And I won't dance, either", he added, when her gaze shifted to him. He prepared himself to fend off incoming weaponry, but to his surprise, nothing came.  
"Fine... Party-poopers..." And with that she left, knocking a few chairs over on her way.

"You're a lifesaver...", Neji murmured and sat on the chair next to him. Naruto shrugged.  
"Don't mention it... But why didn't you do it? I mean, back then with Gekimayu-sensei and Kirābī you-"  
"Nooo, don't remind me...", the Hyūga groaned and grabbed the sake, not caring about a cup, bringing it straightly to his lips. The Jinchūriki chuckled at the reaction, but didn't say anything more.[C]  
He suddenly heard a loud crash and shouting from the other side of the room.  
"That sounds like... Oh _shit_, where's Sasuke?", he cursed and jumped to his feet, hectically searching for his best friend. And there he was, standing next to an upside-down table, grabbing a frantic Genma at his collar and glaring at him in the middle of what once was their card game.  
"_Fuck!"_, Naruto cursed again and dashed off to save some more lives tonight. Neji just stared after him, not even pretending to know what was going on and drank some more sake. A few moments later, the blond returned, a thrashing Sasuke draped over his shoulder. The Hyūga tilted his head curiously.  
"What was that about?"  
Naruto let his friend down again and tried to make him sit on a chair.  
"You see- no, Sasuke, stay here! Nii-chan here is- _damnit, sit!_" He forcefully pushed the raven's shoulders down.  
"But-!"  
"No buts, just _sit!_"  
Neji blinked rather interested at the display. Sasuke struggled some more, until his shoulders suddenly slumped down and he started mumbling incoherent things. He then looked at Naruto, who shook his head, ran his fingers through his hair, and plopped down on a chair. He wordlessly handed over the sake bottle, and the blond gratefully took it.  
"Well?", Neji enquired, and the other shook his head again.  
"Sasuke... is drunk. And he's a strange drunk. First he gets all violent, like you just saw, then he gets all depressed for a reason I do not know and _then_ he gets clingy... I'm the only one who can handle him when he's like that-"  
"You're the only one who can handle him at all", Neji murmured but was swiftly ignored.  
"So I usually take care he doesn't drink too much or that he's near me when he does. Didn't work this time, so I just had to save Genma's ass."  
Neji nodded in understanding though he didn't actually. And he didn't particularly care, either.  
"So that's when he's depressed?", he asked and nodded towards the Uchiha who just sat there, murmuring and glaring at the table. Naruto shot his brother-in-everything-but-blood a look and sighed.  
"Yup."  
"Interesting."

They started a casual conversation about unimportant things ("Hey, how was your last mission? I heard you were in Kusa." "Not bad, and yours in Iwa?" "Good."), all the while sharing the bottle of sake (cups had become unimportant ever since they lost theirs and didn't feel like getting new one's) until they suddenly heard some shouting and clapping. Naruto jumped to his feet.  
"Oh _shit_, where's Sasuke?!", he asked panicked. Neji blinked at him owlishly and raised his eyebrows.  
"Right next to you."  
The blond whipped around, and indeed, the man in question sat there, head on his arm and drawing patterns on the table, still mumbling. He stared a moment and then sat down again.  
"Oh... Right." He patted the Uchiha's shoulder, but another wave of shouts and clapping made him look at the group of people gathering in the middle of the room again.  
"What's happening there?"  
Neji shrugged, but activated his Byakugan to take a closer look. His eyes widened.  
"What in the...", he breathed, rather disturbed and deactivated his kekkei genkai. He looked at Naruto again.  
"I thank you _so_ much for saving me earlier...", he simply said and took a large gulp of sake.  
The blond, even more curious than before, stood up again and jumped on Sasuke's back to see over the other people's head, successfully smashing his friends face into the table. His blue eyes widened at what he saw.  
Ino, Tenten and Temari were there, dancing (if you could call it that), with Kiba, Lee and... Shino (_What the FUCK?!_) lying between their legs and doing something that vaguely resembled push-ups. He wasn't even mad when Sasuke shoved him off his back again, making him fall hard onto the ground. He picked himself up from the floor and sat on his chair again.  
"That's..." He couldn't find the words, but the long haired male in front of him seemed to understand nonetheless.  
"Yes. Yes it is." And with that, two new bottles of sake appeared in his hand, seemingly out of nowhere, and he gave one to the blond.

A short while later, Naruto felt someone latching onto his arm. He slowly turned his head and tried to focus on the dark mop of hair at his shoulder.  
"I guess now the clinging starts?", Neji asked, interested, slurring a bit. He nodded and drank some more sake. A pale hand reached up and took the bottle from him. He blinked again when Sasuke drank out of it before shifting closer with his chair. The Hyūga found it somehow astounding that Naruto didn't seem to mind. They continued their conversation, Sasuke all the while getting closer and closer to the blond, and it wasn't until he was practically hanging from him, that Naruto had enough.  
"Teme, I think it's time for you to go home."  
He got no response apart from the grip on his arm tightening. He rolled his eyes before freeing his hand and weaving a sign.  
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"  
Another Naruto appeared next to him and he passed Sasuke over.  
"Take him home, stay with him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Dispel when you think he won't kill himself."  
"Aye!"  
And with that, his clone slung one of the raven's arms around his neck and slowly walked out of the bar. Mostly because he wasn't completely stable either.  
Neji nodded, something akin to appreciation on his face.  
"Those Bunshins sure come in handy, huh?"  
Naruto nodded, blissfully smiling when a certain memory flashed through his head.  
"You have no idea..." The Hyūga raised his eyebrows at that, something he couldn't quite name flashing through his eyes.  
"Ohhh? Well, then give me an idea."  
The Jinchūriki's smile widened before he leaned over the table and whispered loudly:  
"Let's just say Kakashi-sensei and I found some new merits about them when we were a couple."  
Neji's eyes widened when images flashed through his head and he couldn't help the small blush that crept up his face. He didn't even care about Naruto's uncharacteristic giggle, because _damn..._  
"And your clone with Sasuke...?"  
The blond shook his head, still grinning.  
"Nah. They'll be good. The teme will use him as a teddy bear until he finally passes out, that's all."  
"Huh...", the raven breathed, the pinkish colour slowly disappearing from his cheeks. He took another sip of sake, eyes shifting to the people gathered in the middle of the room. There were less now, some gone and some occupying the tables nearby, partially passed out from the alcohol. He shook his head when he spotted Tenten among them, a bit disappointed that they didn't know their limits. Okay, he definitely wasn't sober himself, but he wasn't completely wasted. Like Kiba for example, who drooled on the table he was laying on and occasionally grunted when a giggling Sakura poked him in the ribs. He wondered who else apart from himself and probably Naruto still knew what they were doing.

* * *

Exactly 87 minutes later, Neji wasn't quite where he was, what was happening and _why_ it was happening. All he knew was that the glass at his exposed back was really, really cold. And the person between his legs, kissing him harshly and thrusting into him, pressing him against the window, was really, really warm. His alcohol-fogged mind didn't quite comprehend what had happened which made them ended up like this, but it did understand however that this felt fucking _good_. A low grown escaped him and he dug his fingers into the shoulders beneath them, drawing blood. The grip around his thighs hardened, the pace increased and he let out a noise he couldn't quite decipher when Naruto bit on his neck, hard. He tilted his spinning head to make more room for this sickly hot mouth that was breaking his skin and he soon felt his release coming closer. He felt he was being shifted and- _ohgo__ddot__hatagain!_ He now gripped the window frame with one hand to better keep his balance, and his knuckles turned white. They were both panting harshly now, his long hair sticking to his sweat-covered skin. The blond lost all rhythm now, simply slamming into him, and when Neji climaxed with a violent shudder mere seconds later, he actually ripped a part of the wooden window frame out. Naruto followed closely and pulled his shrinking member out.  
They stayed like that for a moment, forehead against forehead, eyes closed and panting harshly. When Naruto had the feeling his legs wouldn't carry him anymore, he slowly sank down on the ground, all the while still holding onto his partner. His vision blurred and his mind spun when the adrenalin disappeard and the boozed state he had been in before returned. He slowly opened his eyes and met pale ones, veiled with lust, hunger and satisfaction. He felt himself getting hard again, and considering something was poking into his stomach, he assumed the other felt the same way. He scrambled to his feet, pulling the raven up with him, and simply murmured "We better take this to the bedroom...". All he got in return was a dazed nod.

They didn't get far, however, because after two steps he was being turned around and attacked. Or rather his mouth was attacked. He tried to say something, but since only incoherent noises came out, he stopped and simply obeyed the demanding lips. He stumbled backwards, pulling Neji with him and he blindly tried to reach at least the couch in his living room. He couldn't do another session standing, not now. When the back of his knees hit something soft, he swiftly turned them around and pushed the raven down on the cushiony surface, all the while not breaking the kiss. He placed himself between pale legs and pushed two fingers in again, more for the messed up foreplay rather than preparation. That was unnecessary right now. He licked at the half-hard member in front of him, tasting it, and looked at his companion who had an arm draped over his face and took a shuddering breath. He added another finger and stroked himself as well, even if it wasn't particularly needed. He shifted after some more seconds and pushed himself in again. It was amazing, just like the last time. And his head was astoundingly clear, he thought, but he somehow had the feeling that wouldn't last for long.  
He started moving, a bit slower than the last time, but he wasn't even able to settle for a steady pace until a hand gripped his hair and pulled him up to meet pale eyes only few inches afar.  
"_Move_", the Hyūga growled in a deep, husky voice, and Naruto had to shudder, but he obeyed.  
It soon became just as raw and wild as before, the only difference being the new angle for Neji. The raven gripped his shoulders so hard there were big, ugly bruises left, and when he came the blond was sure he could hear his bones crack under the strangled whimper-moan-hiss his partner let out. He released after a few more thrusts as well, sinking down on the arching body beneath him. He had trouble breathing normally and the whole room was spinning around him.  
_Damn... Bunny sex and alcohol do not mix well together..._, he thought and closed his eyes.

Neji on the other hand was collecting his thoughts. Sure, he was satisfied indeed, but a small little bit of his pride demanded him to change the fact that he had been submissive... Twice. And being the quick learner he was, he had to do something about it. Good thing he too was a victim of his hormones, and with a bit more... _attention_ he was sure he could go for another round. And Naruto... Well, he'd see about that, right now, his pride was screaming at him to do something. And with that, he swiftly moved from under the blond and stood, pulling the other up with him.  
"Bedroom. Where?", he asked, massaging the other's manhood and grinning smugly when he felt it hardening. But before he could get an answer, he engaged the blond in a bruising kiss. He felt he was being pushed backwards and he took a step back. He was being led into the bedroom, but not without bumping into a few things on the way. He too was hard again, and he buried one of his hands in blond locks to pull those intoxicating lips even closer. Where was that damn bed? He wanted some action, _now_.  
His hip suddenly met something hard and he was pushed flat on his back. He opened his eyes. The table.  
_Where the hell does this idiot have his bed...? Oh screw it_, he thought, freed himself and reversed their positions.  
Naruto looked up at him dazed and slightly confused, not really comprehending at all until slender fingers gave him the answer. He bit back a moan before propping himself up on his elbows.  
"'You sure?", he asked and tried to focus on the other male leaning down on him between his thighs. He failed and fell back onto the table with a moan. He heard light chuckling.  
"I'm a fast learner."  
Indeed he was, as Naruto found out a couple of minutes later when he was being thoroughly screwed into his own table. _I didn't expect this..._, he managed to think, _but then again I didn't really expect any of this to happen..._ He was writhing and clawing at the wood beneath him, leaving deep scratches the surface. He reached up and grabbed a fistful off of sweat-dampened hair that was tickling his stomach, yanking its owner down to him to engage him in another heated kiss. He soon came with a strangled cry, though there was barely any sperm covering his stomach. Neji followed closely, biting down hard on the other's lips. He stayed where he was, far too tired and still _drunk_ to do anything else, but no matter how boneless they both felt, this was uncomfortable.  
"Bed...", he murmured once again with closed eyes. He felt fuzzy. A few seconds passed before he got a groggy answer.  
"Left."  
He slowly blinked, and as soon as he fully progressed that answer, he got up and looked around. Indeed, there it was, about two feet left of him. Huh.  
He slowly separated himself from the hot body beneath him and stumbled over to the soft mattress, collapsing on it as soon as it was in reach. The blond followed a moment later.

* * *

Naruto awoke the next morning far too early due to memories of Sasuke vomiting all over him flashing into his mind. Add that to the excruciating pain in his head, and he felt like throwing up as well. He slowly sat up groaning, and blinked warily at the pale legs in front of him. He blinked some more.  
_Pale legs...?_ He followed them with bloodshot eyes until they disappeared under his blanket, leading to a lump beneath it. He then noticed his own legs lying beneath them, and the arm around his hip. He slowly lifted the covers to see who owned the limbs all around him, and when he saw one Hyūga Neji curled up at his side, sleeping peacefully, more memories flooded him. He dropped the covers again and groaned.  
"Oh god..."  
He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, not only because of his throbbing head, but to calm himself as well. Come to think of it, why was he hungover at all? What was that stupid fox doing now?  
Carefully entangling himself from the other male he climbed out of the bed. He needed a shower, _badly_. He saw Neji frowning in his sleep, tugging at the blanket and curling up even more at the loss of the warmth, and if it weren't for him feeling like shit right now, he'd be chuckling at the fact that his stoic friend was a cuddly sleeper.

He slouched over to his dresser and grabbed some random clothes before entering his bathroom and getting under the shower. He leaned against the tiles behind him and closed his eyes, entering his mindscape.  
Naruto looked at the giant fox lying in his cell and looking at him with bare hidden amusement.  
"Seems like you had some fun last night."  
The blond groaned again.  
"I don't want to think about that right now...", he winced at the volume of his own voice, "What's with the headache?"  
"That, my dear container, is what you humans call a hangover."  
Naruto briefly thought about banging his head against a wall, but then decided against it.  
"I know. Why do I have one? You usually take care of it."  
He wasn't sure if foxes could actually snicker, but the noise his partner made surely sounded like it.  
"For my entertainment. You've been awfully boring the last weeks. You wouldn't even play with me."  
Naruto whined. "Kuram-OW!"  
He winced when his voice echoed through the room and his head felt like it was melting. He heard another chuckle.  
"Fine, fine. Give me twenty minutes, but you'll let me out and have some fun on your next mission."  
And with that, Naruto found himself standing in his shower again. He waited some minutes before he moved until the pain in his head started disappearing, and when it did, he cleaned himself up.  
True to his word, Kurama had taken care of his pain in simply twenty minutes and Naruto felt wonderful. Apart from the dread in his stomach about the upcoming conversation with the person in his bed, that is.  
He got dressed and re-entered his living room, looking at the scattered clothes that partly weren't his own. Picking them up and folding them, he thought about what he was going to say.  
_I guess we were both pretty drunk... The question is, if Neji remembers the last evening as well, though I think he does. Didn't drink more than I did, and I remember everything, even if some things are a bit blurry. What's this chunk of wood doing here...?_ His thoughts stopped for a moment until his gaze fell onto the damaged window frame. _… Right..._

Naruto was torn from his thoughts when he heard a pained groan from inside his bedroom, followed by some shuffling. Gulping, he mentally prepared himself for the following confrontation, but before he went into his kitchen. Filling a glass with some water and getting his painkillers, he went back into his bedroom.  
Neji sat on the edge of his bed, blanket covering his lap and head in his hands, a pained expression on his features. Pale eyes opened and looked at him when the blond stepped into the room, and after a moment they widened. Naruto inwardly winced. He silently held out the glass and the pills and, after a moment, the items were taken from his hands.  
He sat down on a chair and observed his friend, noting the way his usually neat hair was a mess and stuck out in all directions. After a few moments the blond got up and left the room, only to return with a handful of clothes a moment later. He was just planning on leaving them on the table and walking out once more, when he noticed some stains on the wood.  
Feeling a blush creeping up his cheeks, he instead put them on a chair and went to get something to clean the table up. And the window as well... He hoped no one had seen them, that'd be way too embarrassing.  
When he returned a few minutes later, Neji looked a bit better than before and observed his every movement, looking bewildered. Naruto gulped and interrupted the awkward silence.  
"If you want to shower, it is the door on the right in the living room. You probably need it as badly as I did, it's, uh... even in your hair..."  
The raven stared at him for a moment, before his pale eyes fell onto the strands of hair dangling in front of his face. And indeed, some of the strands were glued together by a sticky, milky white substance that looked an awful lot like...  
"_Oh god..._", he groaned, jumped to his feet and disappeared into the bathroom in mere seconds. Naruto looked after him, not sure what to do, but then he simply grabbed the clothes he had previously left on one of his chairs and put them on the shelf next to the door to the bathroom. The shower was already on. He carefully knocked.  
"I put your clothes next to the door."  
"Yes, thank you..."  
He turned around and looked out of the window, only to find himself blushing again when the memories of last night's activities came back to his mind. He quickly turned around and went to change the sheets of his bed, even if nothing had happened in there. His lips twitched with twisted amusement, and if this wouldn't be such a serious matter, he'd be laughing at the fact that they did it three times last evening, only to fall asleep as soon as they actually reached the bed.

Half an hour later, a fully clothed Neji including hitai-ate with dripping, but thankfully clean, hair that was hiding the bite mark on his neck sat in front of him at his kitchen table. Neither of the two was speaking, and they carefully avoided each other's gaze for various reasons.  
One was of course the embarrassment, but in Neji's case it was some sort of humiliation as well. He couldn't believe he had acted like he did the last evening, even if he had been fairly drunk. To lose it like that... He had behaved like a horny teenager!  
He looked up when he heard Naruto speaking.  
"Look, uh... What happened, happened, right?" Blue eyes locked with his own and he winced, but nodded.  
"Yeah, and we can't undo it now, so no point in whining over it." _Gods, this is awkward_..., the blond thought.  
Neji stayed silent for a moment before he spoke up.  
"What now?"  
"Uh..."  
Naruto thought. They could act like this never happened, as strange as it was, or act on it... Summoning all of his bravery (or stupidity), he voiced his thoughts.  
"We could, uh... go out sometime. Like, on a date or something."  
Neji raised his eyebrows.  
"... Did you plan to do this?"  
"No! I just thought, uhm..." Now how should he say this?  
"You thought?"  
"... Seize the day? Or moment? I mean, this already happened, and I guess we could give it a try... If you want to, that is."  
Neji pondered for a moment, thinking through the options. He finally shrugged; there wasn't much he could lose now.  
"... Fine. But no word about tonight to anyone."  
Naruto smiled at him nervously before nodding and scratching the back of his head.  
"Fair enough. How about... Now? I'm starving, and I don't have much here."  
The raven looked at him again before he sighed. Somehow he had the feeling that this was all happening a little too fast, but he still nodded.  
"I need to change first, though." His current clothes may be clean, but more than a bit rumpled.  
Naruto nodded and got up, left the kitchen and returned with a complete set of Jōnin gear.  
"These should fit you, they're Sasuke's. You're about the same height, they might be a bit tight though, you're broader than him."  
"... Why do you have his clothes?", Neji asked, eyeing the clothes before taking them. He didn't care about the fact that the Uchiha might not want him wearing his clothes. He wasn't afraid of him.  
"He stays over sometimes."  
"Hm", was all the raven said when he left the room to get changed. A few minutes later, he returned, looking perfectly normal apart from his freely flowing hair.  
"Do you know where my hair tie is?"  
Naruto shook his head, looking embarrassed again.  
"No, sorry, I couldn't find it. The part between the bar and... is a bit blurry. It was already gone when we arrived here."  
"...Okay."  
There was an awkward moment again, before Naruto suddenly chuckled. Neji raised his eyebrows.  
"What's so funny?"  
The blond waved and looked at him mischievously.  
"Nothing, just thought about something I said to Chōji last night after hearing one of Kankurō's strange songs. The guy sang something like 'I ain't your Mr. Nice Guy, more like the meet-you-take-you-home-and-fuck-you-twice-guy' and I said that I'd take it slower in my next attempt for a relationship." He stood up and grabbed Neji's wrist, pulling him out of the apartment. The raven's lips twitched.  
"So much for that..." He could very well just go with the flow, he concluded. It couldn't get any worse, after all.

* * *

Sixty minutes later he was proven wrong. He and Naruto had gone to a small café that was still blissfully empty due to the early hour and had eaten a nice breakfast while having a nice conversation. And while they were drinking their fourth cup of coffee, someone shouted the blond's name.  
"Naruto!"  
Said male looked up and paled lightly, but still smiled.  
"Oh, hey Sakura-chan..."  
Neji discreetly moved his hand through his hair, making it fall over his shoulder and cover the mark on his neck. He nodded in greeting to the girl who sat down next to them, wearing sunglasses.  
"Neji-san, hello. What are you two doing here?", she asked.  
"I, uh, was just having breakfast when Neji came along and joined me...", Naruto improvised and smiled nervously, "What's with the sunglasses?"  
The pinkette smiled sheepishly.  
"I got rid of my headache, but my eyes still hurt when it's too bright, so... some sort of hangover, I guess. Sometimes I really envy your healing."  
The blond laughed and rubbed his neck, lifting his coffee to his lips. Sakura suddenly leaned over and nudged his shoulder.  
"Soo, who's your new girlfriend from yesterday?"

Neji froze and Naruto spit his coffee out again.  
"HUH?"  
She winked at him, grinning.  
"Don't play dumb now, I saw the two of you!"  
She blushed when he looked at her incredulously. She quickly lifted her hands in a pacifying manner.  
"I actually just wanted to check on you, you seemed rather drunk. But then I saw you and her in the window and, uh…" She blushed even more. Yesterday evening had been even more embarrassing. She hadn't seen much, only tons of dark hair and Naruto busy with her neck... She didn't notice Neji discreetly brushing his fingers through his hair, making it fall even more over his shoulder to hide the bite mark. Damn, why didn't that Uchiha wear bigger collars, like he did when he was younger?!  
Naruto sputtered, his face an interesting shade of red.  
"You, eh, you don't know her. Civilian", he added, hiding his face in his cup.  
She pouted, clearly not believing him. She hadn't seen much, but that muscular figure didn't look civilian to her.  
"I know you're lying. Why won't you tell me? She looked kind of familiar...", she mused, tapping her chin with her finger. Neji had to summon up all of his willpower to _not_ say anything at being taken for a girl... Just because he had long hair? Seriously?  
Naruto decided to stay silent and stubbornly looked at his coffee. The young woman stared at him before she huffed and suddenly turned to the Hyūga.  
"And how are you, Neji-san?"  
"I'm fine, thank you", he answered casually, tilting his head inconspicuously, making even more hair fall over his shoulder.  
"If you have a hangover, I could take care of it", she offered and smiled at him. He shook his head.  
"I'm fine", he repeated. Her green eyes fell on the dark strands that were uncharacteristically untied.  
"Letting them free today, huh?", she asked, a tiny hint of jealousy in her voice. His hair looked softer than hers.  
"...Yes, I thought I'd try something else today."  
She suddenly put her elbow on the table and propped her head on her palm, looking at him with a strange expression in her eyes he could barely make out behind the sunglasses.  
"You sure have pretty hair, Neji-san... Most of the girls I know envy you for it", she sighed. He looked at her disbelievingly, but not showing it, with a twitching eyebrow. He wasn't sure if he should feel flattered or insulted that his hair was 'pretty'. He liked it, yes he did, but still...  
"... Is that so?", he enquired instead and watched her nodding enthusiastically.  
"May I?", she looked at him interestedly.  
"May you what?"  
But instead of answering she simply reached over and brushed her fingers through his hair. He froze again.  
"You have to tell me what you do to make it so healthy...", she muttered, lifting a few strands and letting them fall from her fingers like a waterfall. She couldn't feel a single split end. But then her gaze fell down on his pale neck and the red spotting on it. She stared at the mark for a moment, slowly putting the pieces together and then realization hit her like a brick.

Sakura sank back on her chair, staring at the two males in front of her in utter disbelief. Naruto tried to shrink as much as he could, grimacing, while Neji put a hand over his face in embarrassment, feeling himself _blushing_ for the first time in years. No wait, he did yesterday...  
"Oh my god... You were her- I mean him... _Oh. My. God. _I didn't know you two were..." Her jaw hit the ground when they shifted uncomfortably and blood rushed to her face.  
"You weren't... So that was- OH GOD!", she suddenly squealed, jumped to her feet and dashed away, just as ashamed as the two males she left behind.  
When she disappeared from their sight, Naruto broke the silence.  
"So much for keeping it low for now..." At least she didn't know the juicy details. He sighed. Karma was being a bitch again, but then again, when wasn't it?  
"I think that's out of the question now", Neji stated, the red finally disappearing from his face. The blond nodded and emptied his cup.  
"Might as well just go along with it, it was only a matter of time until someone caught on, anyway." The Jinchūriki waved a waitress over and ordered another refill. "We're in a village full of shinobi, after all."  
The raven nodded his agreement and brushed his hair back in place to cover his neck.  
"True... So, what were you saying about Sai-san and his nicknames?"  
Naruto's eyes lit up and a grin spread over his face. They continued their previous conversation before Sakura had interrupted them, and after some time in which mostly the blond did the talking with an interested Hyūga listening and commenting, he came to a conclusion. _This just might work out..._, he thought, but of course he knew better than to get his hopes up. He didn't need a repetition of his last break up. And when he mused about his previous two flings, he suddenly realized something, and this, my dear readers, was the third time in his life, that Uzumaki Naruto was completely and utterly terrified. Even if it was just for a moment.

He faltered in his speech and stared a moment at the male in front of him, who frowned and looked back.  
"Is something wrong?"  
Naruto continued to stare for a moment, before he smiled brightly and shook his head.  
"Nah, just realized something."  
Neji raised his eyebrows questioningly. He blinked in surprise when the blond poked his nose.  
"That you fit _exactly_ into the pattern of my previous 'preys'."  
The Hyūga blinked again, and an amused smile tugged at his lips.  
"'Preys'? What're you gonna do, chop my head off and hang it on your wall? Or rather the usual procedure of displaying my underwear on a shelf and showing it to all your friends?"  
Naruto laughed out loud, shaking his head. He calmed down when the waitress came with two new cups of coffee, putting them on the table in front of him, and he snorted once more before he answered, his blue eyes sparkling.  
"Nah, I'll leave your pretty head alone, no worries." Neji's eyebrow twitched. There was that 'pretty' again.  
"And I'm not enough of a pervert for a shelf like that."  
Now the raven snorted.  
"Says the man who was student to two of the most well-known perverts from this village, and who has inherited their love for a certain series of pornographic novels."  
The blond raised his shoulders, a crooked smirk on his features.  
"Okay, okay, point taken. And it's not porn, it's highly inspiring erotica."  
Neji wondered about the inspiring part, but decided to ask about that later. Something whipped through his mind.  
"Whatever you say... But tell me more about this 'pattern' you mentioned."  
Naruto mused, smiling.  
"Well... Let's just say all three of you are smart, silent and considered geniuses."  
_Three?_ The Hyūga pondered for a moment.  
"... You were with the Uchiha?", he asked, torn between 'I didn't see that coming' and 'Why doesn't that surprise me at all?'. The other male simply grinned at him and winked.  
"See? Smart." Neji's eyebrow twitched at the unsatisfying answer.  
"And you all seem to have a twitchy eyebrow", the blond added as an afterthought with a small frown. It twitched again.

* * *

Fin.

* * *

[11]Gejimayu = Centipede Brows (Rock Lee)

[C]_"Don't mention it... But why didn't you do it? I mean, back then with Gekimayu-sensei and Kirābī you-"_  
"_Nooo, don't remind me...", the Hyūga groaned and grabbed the sake, not caring about a cup, bringing it straightly to his lips. The Jinchūriki chuckled at the reaction, but didn't say anything more._

I am referring to a friendship event in the game Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3. I know it's not canon, but that moment was just so awesome and hilarious, I couldn't help myself but add it in here. XD Search for "Neji Raps! : Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3" on Youtube and enjoy. xD

* * *

Yay me! It is done! And yay **PshhAnonymous** for proofreading all this!  
But well, I know. The sorta lemon ain't over the top, but to be honest... I'm not really comfortable with writing this stuff. You see, I actually take great care into not writing stuff that I didn't research first in one way or another, and well... I'll never be able to know how drunken gay sex feels, right? But on the other hand, I just felt like it was needed in here, don't ask me why though.

But well, that's that... The sorta sequel is partly written, though I'm not sure when I'll get to finish that one. Life's hell right now, and to be honest, my Naruto fever has calmed down a bit again. It'll come back as soon as the Anime gets interesting again though. I think. Well, we'll see, but I do promise I will write and upload that sequel some time. This year... cough.

Wall anyways, stay tuned! And I thank everyone who has followed, favourited or reviewed this, and also thanks to everyone who is going to do so!


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